Douglas Davidson

Elmntsofmadness

In brief, I’m a Renaissance Geek. I currently operate my own film review site Elements of Madness, serve as a senior contributor for Charlotte-based arts and culture blog CLTure, and film critic for website Pretty Vacant One.

As of June 2016, NC Film Critics Association member. As of October 2018, Rotten Tomatoes approved critic.

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Three siblings do everything together: sleep, bathe, go to school, play, and fight. They are each other’s worlds until older siblings Manny and Joel begin to take after their fickle father and youngest sibling Jonah must learn to engage the wor... Read the full blog post »

Director Spike Lee has never been known to mince words and his latest project, "BlacKkKlansman", hits like a sledgehammer in the gut. Lee utilizes the memoir of Ron Stallworth, the first black police officer in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to tell... Read the full review »

If you were asked to name the first Muppet to pop into your head, the answer would inevitably be tied to your introductory experience. If you named Big Bird or Kermit, you likely know how to get to Sesame Street. Namecheck Hoggle, Sir Didymus, Amb... Read the full review »

There are films where you know from the get-go that they are going to shock you and then there are films that come out of nowhere. "Arizona", the latest from RLJE Films, unequivocally falls into the category of the later. Built upon a simple, dark... Read the full review »

Horror fans looking for something more cerebral should check out the Portuguese dark arthouse film The Forest of the Lost Souls (2018) (A Floresta das Almas Perdidas) from first-time feature director #qt5vsmq3-jose-pedro-lopes, dropping into selec... Read the full review »

Horror fans looking for something cerebral should look no further than dark arthouse film The Forest of the Lost Souls (A Floresta das Almas Perdidas) from first-time feature director José Pedro Lopes. Less an exploration of suicide, more an expl... Read the full blog post »

There’s been a wonderful resurgence in the teen dramedy sub-genre in the last few years that’s given audiences films like "The Edge of Seventeen" and "Saturday Church". Movies that take an honest look at teens in a period of crisis – whether... Read the full review »

Whether it’s classic creatures like King Kong and Godzilla or newer fare like those seen in 2006’s "The Host" or any glimpsed in the "Cloverfield" series, audiences love themselves a good monster flick. Last year’s "Kong: Skull Island" made... Read the full review »

Adapting video games for film tends to underwhelm at the box office. It either takes a straight-forward premise and mucks it up (poor besmirched "Super Mario Bros.") or largely misunderstands what made the game fun (this includes you "Street Fight... Read the full review »

Had no idea how deep within the Black community skating ran. Just as regions or states have a sound, they also have movement. Seeing how much it means, as well as what the slow shutting down of locations does to the community - wasn't prepared for... Read the full review »

The beauty of William Shakespeare’s plays is their malleability to interpretation. Even the highest of the literati recognize that Shakespeare wrote for the multitudes, not just high class or lower born. As such, his plays contain a timeliness,... Read the full review »

Appearances can be deceiving. Always be the smartest person in the room. There’s no such thing as coincidence. These may be rote clichés, yet the failure to adhere to them will get you killed in Vaughn Stein’s feature debut, “Terminal”. B... Read the full review »

The premise of "The Party" is incredibly straight-forward: celebration is in the air as a small group of long-time friends gather to honor Janet’s (Kristin Scott Thomas) political appointment in the British government. The setting slowly shifts... Read the full review »

For many, going to the movie theater is all about escapism. Whether by some space odyssey, gut-busting comedy, biopic, family drama, or adventure historical, the movie theater is a place to depart the seriousness of life and embark on a journey of... Read the full review »

Netflix’s latest original feature isn’t going to blow the doors off your house, but that’s not what it’s geared for. Instead, "Set It Up" is a silly, light-hearted, rom-com that’ll take you on an amusing ride all the way to the end. Lead... Read the full review »

Entertaining popcorn flick that’s nothing more than it appears - an opportunity for several talented actors to have a great time working together. If the last 15-20min weren’t so focused on explaining everything - not to mention the clunky, na... Read the full review »

There’s a strange sense of freedom that comes over us in our youth every summer. Maybe it’s the longer stretches of daylight, the rising heat, or lack of parental supervision as they toil away at their jobs. Whatever it is, it instills an annu... Read the full review »